Perhaps the most annoying thing you can tell me is that some DMO is re-branding their destination.

A destination brand is:

The sum of experiences of a traveler during a trip (but not all experiences are equal)

The sum of all stories somebody has hears about a destination (but not all sources are equally credible)

That’s it.

To re-brand a destination, you need to change the stories people tell when they get home. In order to do that you need to change the experiences travelers have. Changing your story doesn’t mean anything if yours is different from the real one.

16 Comments

I tend to agree with your points, but not completely. Yes, destination brands are the sum of the stories they generate, but brands are also promises. Whether the promise is kept or not is key to what kinds of stories the destination will generate.

The question you raise is who owns the brand. If I start a new widget company tomorrow I completely own my brand because there is no other context around it. Over time, brand ownership starts to permeate to other entities, whether it be shareholders, front-line staff, customers or the general public. For example, if I bought the Marlborough brand and launched a line of baby foods under it, the public would not accept that no matter what I said. Considering destinations, I agree with the point that the brand is mostly based on a collective set of experiences. The challenge for a principle steward (such as DMO) is to understand how much influence it has over the brand and how much it can managed or positioned differently from where it is now and over what time frame.

Thanks Joel. You're always the right man for a perfect analogy. My opinion is that most DMO's don't understand their area of influence and as a result focus on the wrong things. Especially now that information and conversation is everywhere.

While stories are important, it's the relationships that make the difference. Your relationships define your brand. And you can change how you have relationships with people who touch your brand. So put the branding talk aside and get out there are form meaningful relationships with people. Your brand will thank you for it.

MOs have far less control over their destination brand than they think. Not only is the brand commensurate with the sum total of conversations about the destination as a place to visit but as a place in which to live, work and invest. A countries government, policies, culture, international leadership, contribution are beginning to matter far more and can be influenced by non “official” sources. See: http://bit.ly/5eFjmQ

I expect that in the next five years more and more DMOs will be absorbed into larger place marketing entities – resistance to this trend will be futile. Tourism has to come out its silo and integrate itself with the broader community and issues of the day or be absorbed.

Bingo William. “It's the stories that matter!”If no one knows your brand, no one is telling stories – perhaps.And the more fans of your region, the more stories they'll tell and the bigger the brand recognition.

Brand is importantly built on the promises you make as Jaime points out and the relationships formed because you care as Doug says below.I think defining your brand by what your customer experiences and shares is more simply an indication that your region has a clear offer that makes sense to your ideal guest. There is a match.

Branding a destination can go much further than the stories guests are telling however, and to truly rebrand a destination, there needs to be attention paid to:* getting the community to be engaged and faithful toward tourists in the community,* involve all aspects of the community in sharing a vision of what visitors can expect,* developing new packages, products and most importantly partnerships that are geared toward meeting the needs of guests you desire in your community – the ideal guests,* figuring out what the authentic experiences are in your community, as well as who the engaging personalities are and putting them centre stage,* telling your own stories by engaging story tellers in sharing all kinds of media about your community.

So, I agree stories are critical, but as for branding, or rebranding, it can be done, but it involves a much bigger think than sending out fresh advertising imagery with new headlines.

Thanks for the great discussion everybody. There was another conversation on Twitter and Facebook as well. One aspect discussed there was the importance of a visual identify and communication style. I think that's often meant by rebranding and I agree that's important. But a brand is much more.

I like the comments here about relationships. Before somebody visits, the stories told by other people is a big factor in the decision process. Social Media makes the right people available to share these stories. And the role of DMO marketing is to encourage and motivate people to share their stories, activate your brand advocates and give them the tools to make an impact, rally your industry to join the conversation and amplify all these messages.

Thanks for the great discussion everybody. There was another conversation on Twitter and Facebook as well. One aspect discussed there was the importance of a visual identify and communication style. I think that's often meant by rebranding and I agree that's important. But a brand is much more.

I like the comments here about relationships. Before somebody visits, the stories told by other people is a big factor in the decision process. Social Media makes the right people available to share these stories. And the role of DMO marketing is to encourage and motivate people to share their stories, activate your brand advocates and give them the tools to make an impact, rally your industry to join the conversation and amplify all these messages.

Missed this the first time around! Totally agree with the premise. Sadly, it seems, too many DMO marketers seem to think a new logo, tag line or website re-design = re-branding. Far from it.

Might be applicable to a bar of soap, where the “experience” starts with the name, packaging, size, shape, aroma etc. all elements the brand manager can control. Hardly the case for most services, especially those in tourism delivered by third parties beyond the control of the DMO. Makes it a much more complex marketing task than many marketers outside tourism realize.

Thanks Joe. I agree, and that’s where DMO’s should display leadership with the industry to deliver experiences that are “on brand” instead of changing the logo, typography and the visual design of the website every 3 years.

[…] A destination brand is shaped by the stories people tell each other. Consumers will share stories about their experiences. Do it right and they’ll do the marketing for you. Under deliver and they will become detractors. It’s the role of the DMO to lead the collection of stakeholders to market to the right people and deliver remarkable experiences. […]